Nine Months
by tvfanatic87
Summary: It was strange how a specific period of time could have such an impact in changing a life.
1. Chapter 1

Nine months. The length of the typical school year, the time it took to bring Jane Austen Sings! to Broadway, the time it took for Jesse to propose to her after they got back together and the age of the precious Eliza(beth) Hummel-Anderson whom Rachel absolutely adored doting on. As much as she loved being an Aunt, getting to spend time with the baby whom she'd had a bond with after carrying her for her best friends, Rachel was ready to have her own little one. Though she and Jesse hadn't necessarily been trying, as Rachel was focused on another show as was Jesse with his directing career, they both knew that it was something that would happen at some point. After all, Jesse had mentioned having 'a co-production of their own' more than once lately.

After winning her Tony, birthing her niece, and taking a month or so to bounce back from pregnancy, Rachel was once again taking the stage by storm as Christine in _The Phantom of the Opera_. It was one of the roles that Jesse had always described as an inevitability for her and she absolutely loved the depth of character that she could take with putting her own twist on such a classic musical.

Now they were 3 months into their run with her as lead and every night they were still performing to a packed crowd. The stage door was always surrounded by cheering fans after and Rachel could honestly say that nothing had ever felt better than finally having all of her dreams.

It was a Saturday night, performance two of the day almost halfway done when Rachel felt her stomach twist and it took everything in her power to not go bolting from stage sick. She was sure that it was probably the food they'd had between shows but as soon as the curtain dropped she'd made her way to the bathroom and started to puke, instantly feeling fatigued. Still, she didn't want to alarm anyone and so once her stomach settled, she quickly popped a few mints, before heading to change for the next scene.

When the show was over, Rachel slipped back to her dressing room and plopped onto her couch, still feeling quite ill, especially with the stage lights and the strain that a performance always put on your body. After a short rest, she changed into normal clothes, took her stage makeup off, and then headed to sign some autographs before heading home and crawling into bed beside her husband who was already asleep.

The next few days, Rachel seemed to experience the same thing, by the end of the first half she was sick to her stomach and she spent most of intermissions puking and doing her best to put on a false front for her castmates and director. This was her job and it was likely just stress or something taking it's toll because she had done every show for the past three months, not one to let her understudy step in.

It was the next morning when Kurt came over with little Eliza and upon having the infant cuddle against her and kiss her, Rachel promptly burst into tears for no known reason. It caused her best friend to look at her with alarm though Rachel insisted through her tears that she was fine and had just missed the angel that had been a gift to everyone in their group of friends. Tasked with watching the little girl since it was her day off, the two headed into the bedroom and just cuddled together. It was probably the best afternoon Rachel had had in quite awhile and she couldn't help but enjoy it.

It took another week and a visit from Quinn before Rachel finally started to wonder what was going on with her body because something just didn't seem right. Calling off for a day, she headed to her doctor's hoping that she could find out what was wrong. The possibility of stress, a hormone imbalance, lack of specific nutrients all dawned on her but as the doctor went over her test results, Rachel couldn't help but cry.

Nine Months. It was strange how such a seemingly random period of time could be so significant.

Now that she knew what was going on, Rachel stopped by the theater to speak with her director. It was only proper to keep him in the loop because things were going to be changing and she wouldn't be able to headline every show like she had been. Those two errands alone had her exhausted and she couldn't believe that she hadn't realized what was going on before. She'd been through this, it wasn't like it was new, but at the same time, this time it seemed so very different in so many ways.

Rachel awoke from her nap when the bed shifted and she felt her husband kissing her forehead. Yawning, she looked up at him sleepily and frowned slightly at the worried look on his face.

"You didn't pick up your phone," He murmured to her causing her to rub her eyes.

"Sorry. I fell asleep." She whispered back, thankful that upon sitting up she didn't feel sick to her stomach. He looked at her like he knew that something was going on, that it probably had been for awhile and he was just waiting for her to speak up and talk to him. "Hold me?" She requested. It wasn't often enough that they really got to spend proper time together and right now she was really missing him and needing to know that things would be okay even if she was fairly sure that he was going to be thrilled with her news.

Once they were settled with her resting between his legs, her back to his chest, she laid her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. "I have something to tell you." She whispered. Getting his nod of approval to continue, she bit her lip and quickly tried to process the huge stream of thoughts that were passing through her mind. "I need you to have a talk with someone…" He seemed to be confused and she was still trying to formulate the exact sentence she wanted so it was taking her a little longer, the pause pregnant, just like she was. "Apparently our co-production isn't quite as keen on being as well behaved as Eliza was with Aunt Rachel."

She could see the wheels turning in his head and after a moment his jaw dropped and he raised an eyebrow as if to ask if she was serious. "Yes daddy, our little one has been making mommy quite sick and emotional lately." The joy in his eyes made her start crying again but at the same time she couldn't help but laugh as he kissed her and moved his hands to her flat stomach.

"You're really pregnant?" He murmured and she nodded, just running her fingers through his hair and staring at him to memorize his reaction.

"Yes. You finally succeeded and putting our own baby in my belly. In just under nine months, we'll be able to love and cuddle our own little star. Eliza is going to be so jealous but happy to have a playmate."

Appropriately enough, the moment was dampened slightly when Rachel felt the nausea creep up again and she had to bolt for the bathroom to puke. It was still early on, but Rachel could already tell that this was going to be a far different and more interesting pregnancy. "I'm blaming the morning sickness on you because it's certainly not my genes that cause them!" She hollered, only to feel his hands wrap around her waist as she finished brushing her teeth.

"I'm sorry beautiful." He stated lovingly, and the heart thumping feeling that her heart seemed to do with him returned as he turned her around and then knelt down to talk to their child.

There was just something about nine months that seemed to fit with Rachel by giving her everything she had ever wanted.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Well, thanks to some awesome reviews it looks like I might be continuing this when the mood strikes me. I don't exactly have a plan for it but we'll see where it goes. This chapter is a little less fluff and a little more angst, but nothing too bad.

* * *

Eight Weeks. It had been eight weeks since Rachel had found out that she and her husband were expecting their first child together. Sadly, each one of those weeks made Rachel want to strangle Jesse more and more.

Her pregnancy with Eliza had been beyond smooth, she had absolutely no complaints except that fact that she couldn't bend over or hit her high notes at the end of it. Even labor hadn't been that bad, fairly quick compared to a lot of first-time deliveries. This time, however, that was not the case and she was beyond ready to be over with this as soon as possible.

It had to be Jesse's fault that she felt this bad because it certainly wasn't her genes as shown by previous experience.

Each morning Rachel found herself bolting from bed and then spending the next hour puking into the toilet. It happened without fail and left her weak and just wanting to crawl back in bed instead of heading to rehearsals and everything else she had on her plate. They hadn't told anyone yet, but she was sure that a lot of people already suspected with the way she'd been looking and acting. It seemed like she could go maybe an hour before having to sit down and eat a small snack just so that she wouldn't pass out. She knew her doctor was concerned and mentioned that she might have to forgo her vegan diet this time around because it didn't seem like she and the baby were getting the nutrients they needed.

It was when she passed out two steps off of the stage during a show that she knew that she couldn't keep doing this. Her body couldn't handle both the baby and her working and since the former was far more important she put in her notice that she would have to leave them. She hated it though because she knew that she was going to go absolutely insane from boredom because she still had six months to go in the pregnancy.

Packing up her things, Rachel left the theater and headed home, immediately crawling into bed upon arrival. Quickly, the stress and hormones took over and she started to cry, curling into a ball with a pillow tucked to her stomach.

* * *

Jesse was beyond worried about his wife. For some reason, this pregnancy didn't seem to be something that her body agreed with and he wasn't sure what he could do to help her. She was always so tired and sick and it was wearing on her body visibly. He'd confided in his mom, needing to hear that at least some of this was normal and that she would be okay because he couldn't bear to lose Rachel, even for a baby.

When her director called him to say that she'd left the show after passing out, Jesse rushed home. There he found her curled in bed and sobbing and his heart broke.

"Rachel…." He whispered sadly, as he kicked his shoes off and padded across the floor to crawl into bed with her. "What can I do beautiful. Tell me what to do because I hate seeing you like this." He'd never felt so helpless in his life, even when he'd stupidly lost her. Kissing her temple, he brushed her tears from her face and moved to rest a hand on her little bump. When she didn't reply, just seemingly staring right past him he shook his head and pulled her into his body.

After a moment, he just started to sing in her ear. Seeing her this sick because of their child was something that he was having a hard time handling, knowing that she'd had a perfectly good pregnancy before. He just didn't understand it. She hadn't done anything different this time besides the fact that it had been a surprise instead of planned.

Eventually, he felt her body go limp with sleep and he just continued to sing to her for a moment longer before moving to kiss her stomach before tucking her in to get some rest.

* * *

When Rachel woke, the sun had set and her stomach turned causing her to once again, go bolting for the toilet. Within twenty seconds, Jesse was there holding her hair back and she whimpered softly in response to him. She couldn't wait for the first trimester to be up and for this to hopefully disappear because she wasn't sure how much longer she could deal with it knowing that not being able to keep hardly anything down wasn't good for her or the baby.

Brushing her teeth when it appeared she was done for now, she turned into her husband's chest and just held him tight. She wished that he could make all of this go away, but knew that he couldn't. "I hate this." She whispered. Of course, she loved the baby growing inside of her, but she was having trouble fully adjusting to this pregnancy emotionally with the physical toll that it was taking on her.

"I know babe. I hate seeing you like this." He replied, kissing her head over and over again. "I wish there was something I could do to make it better for you." She knew that and it was one of the many reasons she loved him so much. He would do anything for her, and he hated himself when there was nothing he could do.

Breaking their embrace, Jesse lifted her up into his arms and carried her back to bed, laying her to rest against the pillows before handing her the remote to the tv. "Pick something for us to watch and I'll go get you some gatorade to drink." She nodded weakly and just pulled the pillow back to her stomach. This was going to be a long pregnancy, and she just had to remember that at the end of it all, she would have her little boy or girl in her arms and that would make all of this worth it. She just wasn't sure if she would want more after this if she had to go through all of this again. It was just too much stress and strain. Jesse would have to do some major sucking up and convincing if he wanted more than one co-production.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This one has a little of all the things you guys have requested. Keep the reviews coming, it definitely motivates me and I'm absolutely open to ideas that you all might have.

A/N2: Just edited this because I just reread chapter two and realized that Jesse's mom already knew so I changed it to his father being upset instead.

* * *

Twins. Everywhere Rachel turned someone was suggesting that she was having twins. And honestly, that really didn't help her feel any better. At four months pregnant, Rachel was pretty sure that she wasn't having twins, that if she was the doctor would have noticed by now. Yes she was sick, and yes that did tend to happen with twins, but it also happened with lots of other pregnancies. She was not having twins and she really wanted to slap the next person that suggested that she might be. If anything, her tiny little bump should suggest the exact opposite. Really, she had only had to start wearing stretch pants in the past week. The doctor was still concerned about the size of the baby at this point and Rachel was having to eat constantly just to try and gain weight to satisfy him.

Thankfully, her morning sickness was subsiding though it was being replaced by general achiness and even more fatigue. It was becoming harder and harder to keep it all a secret, even though she and Jesse had wanted to wait until they were in the clear for a miscarriage for the most part. Everyone had been worried with how she was feeling, but it seemed like her little one was doing okay according to all the scans.

With Jesse up for another Tony award, both their families had made the trip in. Rachel knew that there was no way she would be able to make it through the show so her husband was going on his own this year and Rachel would be staying home for the party there. Kurt was bound to be waiting on her hand and foot, even with Eliza, he had been there since he figured out she was expecting again and was taking his job of godfather and Uncle seriously.

Laying on the couch, Rachel was waiting for everyone to arrive while Jesse got ready in the next room. "How's my little one?" She heard him call and after groaning softly while shifting she replied.

"Still making mommy feel crappy. But definitely starting to move around as well." It was weird that now that she had been through one pregnancy, this time she was already starting to feel what people described as little bubbles moving inside of her. As Jesse worked to fix his tie, he moved into the living room and squatted down next to her, kissing her bump and then her lips.

"Are you sure you can handle having our families here tonight?" He asked her and immediately she nodded.

"Of course I can. It's not like Kurt is actually going to let me do anything." Her husband chuckled but nodded and when the doorbell rang, he moved to let Kurt, Blaine, and Eliza in, immediately taking the one-year-old into his arms.

"How's Uncle Jesse's favorite girl?" He asked her causing her to giggle and babble to him, her eyes twinkling. Jesse really was great with her and Rachel knew that he was going to be an amazing dad. Despite his difficulties with his parents, he had so much love to give and when he was with people he cared about, it was beyond evident.

With her husband moving to finish getting ready, and Kurt taking over the food and everything else, Blaine moved to sit next to her, Eliza on the floor playing with a few toys that were kept at the St. James house. "So. Have you been feeling any better?" Blaine asked her and Rachel just shook her head.

"I swear it's all Jesse's fault that this pregnancy is so difficult. I'm practically on bedrest because I'm so tired and sore. And you know me. Not being able to do anything doesn't sit well. I'm going nuts. I've run out of tv to watch and I'm starting to go crazy being alone." She missed just being out and about in the city, but lately none of that seemed even partly possible. She couldn't even go down the block for groceries anymore without worrying about passing out.

It didn't take long for the rest of the group to arrive, Jesse's sister immediately going to help Kurt in the kitchen, while his parents seemed to judge the fact that Rachel was lying on the couch. Her dads immediately moved to her worried, but Rachel held a hand up to them, not wanting them to fuss over her. "Really I'm fine." She assured them, trying to sit up a bit. She knew that her dads knew something was up even though they were likely more clueless than one would have expected them to be.

It wasn't until Eliza moved over to her and rested her head onto Rachel's stomach, talking in her sweet baby voice that it seemed like anyone even noticed the slight protrusion. Running her fingers through Eliza's hair, Rachel just smiled and relaxed, feeling better than she had for most of the day. "Hey, Eliza…" Rachel murmured softly until the little girl looked up at her. "Tell the baby to behave for Auntie Rachel like you did." She requested. "Maybe he or she will understand you better since you speak their language."

Across the room, Rachel saw jaws drop and Jesse's dad dropped the glass he had been holding. "Jesse Alexander St. James. You get out here right now." He yelled and Eliza winced before whimpering at the noise.

"Come here sweetie, it's okay," Rachel whispered, gently lifting the little girl to her side and running her fingers through her hair. She certainly wasn't in the mood for yelling tonight and she had no qualms about throwing people out if they couldn't act like adults. Thankfully, Jesse pulled his parents aside and Rachel's dads moved over to her, sitting on the small strip of couch next to her. "We're going to be grandparents?" They whispered in disbelief and Rachel nodded softly.

"Well, you will be if this baby let's mommy live after being so sick." It was clear that both men were absolutely thrilled with the idea and since they separated it was the closest she had seen them to each other which was something that made her smile softly. "Blaine, can you take Eliza?" Rachel murmured, needing to get up, pee, and try and move around a little since sitting still only made her ache as much as moving around did. It was good for her to try and act normally, even if it didn't work most of the time.

As she was leaving the bathroom, Jesse found her and wrapped his arms around her waist before leaning down to kiss her. "I've got to get going, but I'll see both of you later tonight. I'm coming straight home after the show, no award parties for me no matter what my agent wants." She knew that she should tell him to go and have fun, but part of her was definitely glad that he wanted to come home to her and their child, to go to bed and not stay out all night drinking and mingling with other women who weren't pregnant and miserable. Despite everything, she couldn't help but have moments of insecurity and it was nice to have him say and do things that assured her that her worries and fears were unfounded.

With Jesse gone, it seemed like everyone was eager to make sure that she was okay, and luckily his father didn't say anything to her. No reaction was better than a negative one and since she knew that he wasn't her biggest fan to begin with she would take it. After eating as much as she could and taking a short nap with Eliza, Rachel settled in on the couch again as the show started. Thankfully, the wait for Jesse's category wasn't long and Rachel smiled as they announced her husband among the nominees and his face appeared on screen.

Unsurprisingly, he won, his third Tony and Rachel smiled, overjoyed for her husband because she knew how hard he had worked and how tough things had been on him with her being so sick and him being the one trying to balance home and family life. The bubbly feeling in her stomach returned and Rachel started crying and laughing at the same time. "Are you proud of your daddy too little one?" She asked softly as she wiped at her eyes. The little moments like this, the ones that were filled with joy. They made all of the pain and bad moments worth it.


End file.
